Rene Dreifuss, left, a mixed martial arts coach, trains Richard Callado at Radical MMA NYC, a New York gym, on March 22. New York is poised to end its ban on professional mixed martial arts, the last state to prohibit the combat sport. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

New York is poised to end its ban on professional mixed martial arts, the last U.S. state to prohibit the combat sport.

Conducted inside a cage or other enclosure with a referee present, MMA bouts end when one fighter quits or gets knocked out or when judges decide after 15 or 25 minutes of fighting who the winner is.

The New York Assembly plans to vote this week after years of leaving the ban intact over fears that the sport was too violent.

Two Assembly committees voted early Tuesday to advance it, with a floor vote expected later in the day.

Assemblywoman Margaret Market, who chairs the tourism committee, said she initially opposed MMA after running into a group of destitute ex-boxers. Added protections for fighters have made it "palatable, at least to me at this point in time," she said.

The committee voted 15-5 for it.

"This bill not only will bring professional mixed martial arts to New York, but just as importantly it will allow for rules and regulations that will offer protections for the amateur fighters as well," said Republican Assemblyman Dean Murray.

Democrat Assemblywoman Pat Fahy noted those changes but voted against it, citing its violence and growing evidence of serious brain injuries and concussions in American football and boxing.

Ultimate Fighting Championship, the sport's largest U.S. promoter, has its eyes on hosting a major fight card late this year at Madison Square Garden and predicts there will be other professional shows next year in Brooklyn, Buffalo and smaller cities.

Fighters wear small, fingerless gloves and little else. They punch, kick, elbow, grapple, knee, trip, tackle, slam and choke each other inside a cage.

Advocates said it has evolved from rougher early days with more rules to protect fighters. Meanwhile, it's on television, and fighters train and amateurs compete in New York. Rules prohibit biting, eye gouging, head butts, finger bending and many other fouls.

The legislation would put MMA under the control of the State Athletic Commission, which regulates professional boxing with drug testing, officials and ringside doctors.

Recently added legislative provisions would increase required insurance for fighters to $50,000 for injuries and $1 million for life-threatening brain injuries. It authorizes the state to study potential funding mechanisms for long-term care of fighters who develop degenerative brain conditions.

New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed legalizing the sport in his budget for the coming fiscal year, noting thousands of New Yorkers already attend dozens of unregulated amateur matches by unlicensed promoters who would also come under government control. (ags)

Popular

Analysis: Crisis, what crisis? Indonesia banks on minimum response

America's currency is the Global South's problem

Acid attack ‘threat’ to young generation’s freedom